Secretary Scott Bessent is building a legacy of financial surveillance and control. The announcement that he is stopping Americans from sending their money abroad and increasing surveillance under the Bank Secrecy Act should be condemned.
Yet, it should be no surprise. https://blossom.primal.net/e23d7989b86e04fcd3c8037999595811678e6845f3cf4a8d1dd82a21c5027843.mp4
Yet, it should be no surprise. It was only just last year that Secretary Bessent increased financial surveillance to target transactions as little as $200. After being sued for this violation of fundamental freedoms, he responded by expanding surveillance to cover even more Americans.
This playbook has been used time after time. When the Bank Secrecy Act was first passed, Congress claimed Americans were hiding money in Swiss bank accounts. Then it was expanded to fight the war on drugs. Then it was expanded again for the war on terror. Now it seems it’s the war on fraud.
Fighting crime is a worthy endeavor. However, we cannot sacrifice the freedoms that make America great in the process.
Scott Bessent has lowered reporting thresholds on overseas transfers in Hennepin and Ramsey Counties to just $3,000 to help trace what the administration describes as hundreds of millions in welfare and benefits fraud routed overseas.
At the same time, Treasury/FinCEN is ramping up data‑driven operations along the southwest border, issuing dozens of investigation notices to money services businesses suspected of non‑compliance with anti‑money‑laundering laws and cartel‑linked flows.
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